Apple Plans to Pull Out Hardware Production From China

After a severe trade war between China and United States, Apple is exploring moving between 15 and 30 percent of its hardware production out of China, according to a new report by Nikkei. The company reportedly has a growing team looking into moving production, and has asked key manufacturing partners like Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron to evaluate the available options.

The catalyst for the shift is the ongoing trade war between China and the US, which is expected to intensify at the end of this month with the introduction of 25 percent tariffs on devices including phones, laptops, and tablets. However, Apple reportedly wants to shift production regardless of whether the trade dispute gets resolved.

Although Trump has repeatedly claimed that Apple was open to the idea of shifting manufacturing from China to the US, it’s likely that production will instead move to countries in South East Asia, with India and Vietnam considered to be front runners for iPhone production.